Long Story Short

Long Story

What’s your post-workout drink of choice? Water? An isotonic sports drink? Cherry juice? Green tea? Protein shakes? Well, if it’s any of the above, you may have been missing a trick.

Over the past five years, the humble box of chocolate milk has been infiltrating its way into gyms around the world. Why? Because for those looking to bounce back after working out, you not only get plenty of fluid, but also a heap of carbs and protein.

Chocolate milk started its most recent march on everyday workout regimes when members of Team USA popped up on television ads drinking the stuff during the 2014 Sochi winter Olympic games. But research goes back as far 2006, pointing out that chocolate milk provides carbohydrate replenishment to the muscles for athletes involved in high endurance sports such as cycling, swimming and long-distance running (indeed, in more recent years it’s been fashionable to dish out chocolate milk at the end of Ironman races).

For that research, physiologist Joel Stager lab tested chocolate milk on a group of cyclists and found it performed as good as or better than other beverages, such as high carb sports drinks. Jason Karp, another researcher on that study, told Fitness Magazine how he’d already switched to chocolate milk, post-workout. “It's easy, it's cheap, and it's got everything that I need after my workout,” he said.

In the same story, nutritionist Rebecca Scritchfield says milk in general is a good choice, post workout, but that chocolate milk has a more beneficial ratio of carbs to protein for muscle recovery and rebuilding. Stager reckons a ratio of four grams of carbohydrates to one of protein is what to aim for.

And of course, that’s before you think about the other bonuses of drinking chocolate milk: added calcium and healthy fats.

So, is chocolate milk for you? Well, it depends on how hard you're working out. Chocolate milk has become a favourite among athletes and professional trainers because it helps you bounce back for your next workout — particularly when that workout is later in the day.

But be wary if you’re reaching for the delicious brown stuff after lighter forms of exercise. “A recovery food or drink becomes important if you’re doing another hard workout that day,” Beth Glace told Nutrition Action in 2015. “If you’re just going for a walk, it probably doesn’t matter because you’re not burning that much glycogen.”

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Is there ever such a thing as too much chocolate milk?

Drop This Fact

The amount of caffeine in chocolate milk is similar to the amount in decaffeinated drinks.